Ralph Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 Has anybody else noticed that the CC site no longer allows you to see what vacancies a site has for a given month? I've written to the CC and received a reply. Both are below. I suggest that others complain as well to get them to re-instate the old system. -----My Original Message----- From: Ralph Sent: 04 January 2007 09:37 To: Web Contact Team Subject: Site bookings Why have you removed the old facility to see when a site had vacancies? It makes no sense to do it the way it is now, it will just be easier to ring and waste people's time. -----CC Reply Message----- Dear member, Your comments have been noted. This is something the web design team are aware of and will be looking to resolve in the future. Kind Regards Natalie Web Contact Team
empress Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 Quite agree with you, Ralph. The previous method was much better. Shall write to the CC myself. Yours Empress
John H Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 Hi Ralph, I sent an email to the CC this morning, complaining about the same thing. I was trying to find out if there were any vacancies at Rowntree Park and it took me ages to find out on the website. The old system was much easier and I can't understand why they have changed it. I haven't had a reply yet but I suppose they give me the same answer, when they get round to it. John.
saruman Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 Ralph - 2007-01-04 6:32 PM Has anybody else noticed that the CC site no longer allows you to see what vacancies a site has for a given month? I've written to the CC and received a reply. Both are below. I suggest that others complain as well to get them to re-instate the old system. -----My Original Message----- From: Ralph Sent: 04 January 2007 09:37 To: Web Contact Team Subject: Site bookings Why have you removed the old facility to see when a site had vacancies? It makes no sense to do it the way it is now, it will just be easier to ring and waste people's time. -----CC Reply Message----- Dear member, Your comments have been noted. This is something the web design team are aware of and will be looking to resolve in the future. Kind Regards Natalie Web Contact Team hi agree you could see the booked up dates *-) there is a problem with no shows people booking sites at the begining off the year just on the off chance they might go *-) i tryed to get on site when the new site started but it was too busy wanted to book rowntree park york for my wedding anversary WITHOUT the kids (lol) (lol) will email them also ray
Lunarsandy Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 Hi Ralph, I've sent off an e-mail to the CC asking why, and if they will be reinstating it or something similar. It's a pain as it is. Does anybody know why it changed? Or maybe could have a guess at the reasoning? Regards
Keith T Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 Hi...yes I complained qabout this some time ago, and got the response as have others that this is something they will consider in their review. The other strange arrangement is the 'grouping' of sites, and trying to find them. No longer it seems you can put in the name of the sites manually, you've got to decide which area the CC thinks it's in, and that isn't always logical. For instance, I looked for Bristol, Baltic Wharf under 'South west'...but no such area.and Bristol is now in the 'South'......has it moved, I wonder. I guess if you come from up North (!!) it may be south of you, but it has never been in what is popularly known as the South of England, as far as I am aware.. Even the site wardesn were quite susprised to find themselves there, I think! Unfortunately, for resons best known to themselves the CC don't have a 'Forum' on their website to post such matters. I have suggested this to the DG, and it will be ineteresting to see what reply (if nay) that gets..>!
maggyd Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 To JohnH --Rowntree Park [you'l be lucky]!! I think people book it as they leave for same time next year ! and if by any fluke of a chance that you get on you might be told "yes we have a sight but it will be a allocated sight" [gratefull for the chance to get on ] you accept, you pay the same as anyone else and are put beside the bins in the riverside site ! even though they are empty pitches all over the site WHAT HAPPENED TO find a site and let us know where you are? argueing doesnt have any effect as you are told " BUT THESE PEOPLE BOOKED MONTHS AGO " There is something that smells rotton and WE wont be going back there even though we like the site we are even sickened the way things are being run. But what is the alternative we are members of both clubs and its six of one and half a dozen of the other .As somebody else said both clubs are full of jobs worths and they are doing us a favour by letting us stay at all."[THERE THAT FEELS BETTER]"
Keith T Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 maggyd - 2007-01-04 10:42 PM are put beside the bins in the riverside site ! even though they are empty pitches all over the site WHAT HAPPENED TO find a site and let us know where you are? " Maggyd - how different to our recent experience. Arrived at 12 noon - ie the 'earliest time' to get on pitch, and found 6 or more motorhomes and caravans waiting to check in. Site was 'full' (as always), but we had prebooked. Rather than block the access road, thy were totally geared up - 'as driver, please stay in the van ready to move, passenger go to check in' was what we were asked to do. So fine, followed instructions, wardens inside checking members in, but once name taken, told to go and find a vacant pitch, and return to advise which we had chosen and sort out payment etc. Meantime as driver moved along as directed by the other wardesn to free up space off the roadway. No complaints at all on this one, and found wardens throughout our stay very helpful.
maggyd Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 kEITH we HAD PRE-BOOKED 2 weeks previously that was the galling part we should of been able to select out own pitch but NO 2 weeks was not evidently early enough and to be fair the lady that took the booking did say we would be put on an allocated pitch but as there was other vacant pitches I just could not see why we were allocated that pitch??
Keith T Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 Maggyd - how odd, I always understood that there was a rule that no specific pitches could be reserved in advance......in fact, somewhere or other I have seen that if you want to pitch next door to friends, you need to arrive at the same time! We do have soime acquaintences who were CC wardens, and they were quite adamant that no specific pitches could be reserved, and if we ever came across this and the wardens refused to let us choose from any empty pitches to simply say we would be taking it up with the CC HQ. Never had to put it to the test yet! I do think you perhasp met either some tired or fed up wardens, or the occasional 'little hitlers'....there's a few of them out there unfortunately.
John H Posted January 4, 2007 Posted January 4, 2007 Hi Maggyd, I did manage to get in at Rowntree Park on February 3rd on a Standard with Awning pitch. I booked it on line and the CC have sent me a confirmation. I must admit, I was quite surprised to find an available pitch but it took me some time to do it with the new system. Perhaps the piece in the latest magazine about withdrawing memberhip from people who don't show up has had some effect. At least the CC will let you book a single night at the weekend, unlike the CC&C but that's another story. John.
Ralph Posted January 5, 2007 Author Posted January 5, 2007 Rowntree Park just illustrates the need for them to return to the old system. In that you could scan down the months and find a time (if ever) when they had vacancies and decide if it was suitable to you. They also used to have sites with bank holiday availability too. I try not to use sites then but it was very useful to those who needed it. As for why? Well I would be prepared to bet that not many people in the CC IT department (or in the whole of East Grinstead come to that) are actually caravanners so they don't actually use the system. The new one looks prettier :-S
John H Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 Hi Ralph, I have just had a reply from the CC. My message to them and their reply to me follows: Is there any way I can see the site availability calendar that used to be on the old website ,on the new one? As you know, Rowntree Park is a really busy site and it would be helpful to see exactly when it's available and when it's not. The new website only gives you a 7 day option and it's very time consuming having to do lots of searches to find out when spaces are free. I have just booked a stay at Rowntree Park and it took some time to find out when there was a spare pitch. There are lot's of other sites in your network that are always busy so the same would apply to these. The old calendar made forward planning a lot easier. Best regards, John Hinton. Dear Mr HInton, Thank you for your e-mail regarding your concerns. I have tried to give you an explanation of why changes were made and also to give you a way of achieving your desired result.We thought long and hard about the booking system and took a great deal of member feedback prior to changing it. This feedback suggested that the calendars were tedious and confusing to use and took a long time to scroll through to check availability on the network. Many members also said they wanted to be able to search for availability by date. Separately to this, you can search for any site you wish if you only want to read details about it. We have used this feedback to try and improve the situation by letting members get only the results they want for the dates they want and not lots of extra site results that were generated by the availability charts. We also allowed the feedback to steer us in this regard as we are a members Club. There is one way for you to view monthly calendars and that is by booking through the Fast Track service. If you have a rough idea of when you want to visit, enter the dates (no more than 21 nights) and, if there is no availability, the calendars will be shown, if there is availability you can go ahead and book. I appreciate that this may not be ideal for everyone and we have had some feedback on this subject which we are currently reviewing, but unfortunately we cannot change the system overnight, so if we do revert to the calendars, or make any other changes, it may take a little time to do so, so please bear with us. Also, it has never been possible to extend or amend a booking online although this is a facility we hope to offer in the future. Amendments and extensions can only be made by phoning site or the advance booking line. I hope this helps with your query but feel free to get in touch if you have any further comments Kind Regards Natalie Web Contact Team
Ralph Posted January 5, 2007 Author Posted January 5, 2007 A nice comprehensive reply which seems to boil down to "We've changed it, live with it" Or am I being too cynical?
Guest Frank Wilkinson Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 Ralph - 2007-01-05 9:36 AM A nice comprehensive reply which seems to boil down to "We've changed it, live with it" Or am I being too cynical? Yes you are. Do people think that organisations like the CC do things purely to annoy their members and drive them away? They may not get it right every time but I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt as we should to everyone if we're fair and reasonably minded people.
Vernon B Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 Admire your opinion Frank, but I do wonder if the CC is losing touch with its members. I wrote recently about the changes to the credit card which now means you'll be paying 2.75% on foreign transactions and haven't heard a jot. Vernon
JohnP Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 Vernon Why don't you change to the SAGA card it is commission free on purchases in EU just like Frizzells CC was. By the way the SAGA card is administered by Liverpool Victoria as is the CC card. Makes you think why the changes have taken place. Is it something to do with CC profit?
net-traveller Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 Nationwide debit & credit cards are also commission free. You also get bank rate conversion to sterling not tourist rate. Can save a fair bit. ;-)
Keith T Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 JohnP - 2007-01-05 2:15 PM . By the way the SAGA card is administered by Liverpool Victoria as is the CC card. Makes you think why the changes have taken place. Is it something to do with CC profit? Bit off topic really, but ..... Caravan CLub credit card is being changed - now will be Morgan Stanley, I think. In fact,we have been trying for almost 6 months to get our now expired Frizzel issued ones renewed, and they seem to be having problems...Frizzells will no longer renew, and the forms aren't available, or weren't up to a couple of weeks ago, so that ihay could be iessued by the new providers. Bit of bad organistaion there, I susggest, or lack of forethought on expiring cards!
Ralph Posted January 5, 2007 Author Posted January 5, 2007 Frank Wilkinson - 2007-01-05 9:40 AM Yes you are. Do people think that organisations like the CC do things purely to annoy their members and drive them away? . Fair enough, I did say I was probably being too cynical. It's being a miserable old git that does it. However in the case of web sites I so often find ones that look very nice but simply don't work. No I don't suppose they do it on purpose but I do think that very often they don't sufficiently understand the needs of the customer. Once upon a time nothing was launched without extensive user acceptance, now Microsoft etc. have convinced us that it's no longer necessary... See? I said I was a miserable old git :-D
Ralph Posted January 5, 2007 Author Posted January 5, 2007 JohnP - 2007-01-05 2:15 PM Vernon Why don't you change to the SAGA card it is commission free on purchases in EU just like Frizzells CC was. By the way the SAGA card is administered by Liverpool Victoria as is the CC card. Makes you think why the changes have taken place. Is it something to do with CC profit? Are you sure this is still the case? I was going to change to Saga for this very reason but when I searched their website I couldn't find anything to back it up. As they are also LV I had assumed that they are, or soon will be, charging as well. I got a Nationwide card for use abroad. Incidentally this is commision free outside Europe as well. This doesn't really affect me as I don't travel that far but I'm sure others will benefit.
dogmad Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 I've got to agree with Ralph, I find the new system quite frustrating. I wanted to check availability of a particular busy site for any weekend in January and was expecting the old calendar to show up. I had a shock when I was asked for specific dates. I think the old saying applies to this - "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Bill Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Ralph - 2007-01-05 6:33 PM Frank Wilkinson - 2007-01-05 9:40 AM Yes you are. Do people think that organisations like the CC do things purely to annoy their members and drive them away? . Fair enough, I did say I was probably being too cynical. It's being a miserable old git that does it. However in the case of web sites I so often find ones that look very nice but simply don't work. No I don't suppose they do it on purpose but I do think that very often they don't sufficiently understand the needs of the customer. Once upon a time nothing was launched without extensive user acceptance, now Microsoft etc. have convinced us that it's no longer necessary... See? I said I was a miserable old git :-D Anybody remember Hutber's Law? (Patrick Hutber was City Editor of the Torygraph back in the 1970s, his law stated that improvement means deterioration. My favourite example was one of the banks, which announced that it would no longer be opening its branches on Saturdays "for customers' greater convenience"! My guess is that Mr. Hutber is alive and well, and working for the Caravan Club.
Guest Frank Wilkinson Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 I'm sorry to have to say this, but I have never come across a bigger bunch of moaners and whingers than in the motorhoming fraternity. The Caravan Club, with which I have never had the slightest problem, seems to come top of the list. Did anyone read the explanation to John Hinton, a few inches up this thread? To me it seems perfectly reasonable and they also say that they will monitor the position and amend it if necessary, although it can't happen overnight.When I book a ferry, or an hotel via a website, without exception the site asks for the dates that I wish to stay. I've never come across one that gives me all of its vacancies over a month.Let's not forget that the Caravan Club may be a big business, but it's a mutual society. It has no shareholders and all of its profits are ploughed back into member services and many of its officers, especially at regional level are volunteers. I've just been looking at some private sites in the Lake District and the nightly fee for a 'van and two people was over £25!For God's sake, give them a break and let them see what the members' response is to the new system before constantly banging on about what a terrible organisation it is.
Keith T Posted January 6, 2007 Posted January 6, 2007 Frank Wilkinson - 2007-01-06 4:39 PM When I book a ferry, or an hotel via a website, without exception the site asks for the dates that I wish to stay. I've never come across one that gives me all of its vacancies over a month For God's sake, give them a break and let them see what the members' response is to the new system before constantly banging on about what a terrible organisation it is. Frank Your comments are a bit harsh, I think, and most of the posts above are not saying anything about it being a terrible organistion - but one which in certain areas is capable of some improvement. I think the CC takes such suggestions on board, and overall, yes, it does an excellent job, and as far as sites are concerned they represent very good vfm. As far as the booking systme is concerned, yes I aree it is retrograde, and the previous system was easier in many respects. So why not tell the CC that, as many of us have done? Incidentally, I cannot agree with your comments about other internet bookings with hotels or ferries not showing available dates. From personal experience Brittany Ferries internet booking takes you to a page which which shows available sailings several days before and after the date you put in. For hotels, many sites, including Travelodge, will show the days available and the room pricing for a similar period. Even our rail system, which we all complain about, will offer a number of trains nearest to your requested time, and you can specifiy arrival or departure times
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